After the usual Disney logo makes its grand entrée, we are treated to an aerial view of San Fransokyo: a futuristic city with the cybernetic feel of both San Francisco and Tokyo.

Big Hero 6 then kicks off with a gritty recreational battle between two robots, an illegal act of gambling that only the scum of the city resorts to. Then enters the hero of our story, Hiro. He pits his pathetic looking battle bot against the undefeated champion, shocking everyone as his battle bot suddenly wins the battle before anyone can say, “wow!” Yet the fun all ends as his brother comes to rescue him, a nightly excursion ending in a night at the jailhouse. But don’t worry, their Aunt Cass bails them out right away.
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Hiro is not the most memorable or most original of protagonists created by the mouse empire; all the proper character-building rules are followed, but his overall impact isn’t quite there. He lost his parents at age three and graduated from high school at age thirteen, so he’s got the right amount of backstory to make a solid character. He plans to make money through bot fighting, only to change plans after seeing his brother’s institution, so he’s got enough well-rounded motivation for his actions. He even has a knack for inventing spectacular things such as microbots that you can control with your mind, so he’s interesting enough for a lead character. So where does he go wrong then? I’d put the blame on his voice actor Ryan Potter, whose voice is not quite as strong or conflicted to match Hiro’s awkward stage of puberty.

While I wouldn’t have cared that much about the main hero, the emotional trauma that happens to him does win me over. It begins when his emotionally supportive older brother, Tadashi, dies in an attempt to rescue his college professor from a fire, following an explosion, candles, desaturated colors, and umbrellas at a cemetery. Much time is spent on Hiro’s grief from losing his realistically portrayed brotherly love, including a love-filled video message from all of Tadashi’s friends to Hiro. But once Hiro learns of a man in a kabuki mask who stole his microbots after causing the fire that killed his brother, grief turns into revenge.

Yet I still feel like I’ve seen this setup all before. Aside from Hiro, I don’t feel like I have a good knowledge or understanding of the rest of the cast. But then soon enters Tadashi’s most proud invention who pops in for Hiro’s aid: a robotic nurse named Baymax (voiced wonderfully by Scott Adsit). Now, I cannot think of a more lovable walking marshmallow that ever commanded the screen; he squishes as he walks, he stiltedly maneuvers himself around objects, he offers you a lollipop when he’s done healing you, and you just want to run up and give him a big plushy hug. His program also adds some terrific one-liners that will not only get the kids and adults laughing together, but also keep us affirmed of his selfless duty to help others. Even when Hiro suits Baymax up in carbon fiber armor and programs him to learn karate to fight against the kabuki crook, Baymax fails to know how this helps him to become a better healthcare companion.

Then much later, after Hiro builds Baymax a newly upgraded red suit, they take a flight through the skies of San Fransokyo, utilizing the 3D and CGI technology to mark a believable bond between a boy and his bot.

The twosome though are not without some help. Four of Tadashi’s closest friends join Hiro for his pursuit against the Kabuki mask foe, each one decked out with their own super suits. There’s Wasabi the reluctant big-guy, there’s GoGo the slow and cool gum chewer, there’s Honey Lemon the wild one of the group, and there’s Fred, who sees himself as a fire breathing lizard. They’re not the type of supporting cast you’ll be crying over, but as far as a bunch of college-aged inventors go, they are rather believable in their unfamiliarity with the crisis.

Big Hero 6 follows Marvel’s tradition of reviving forgotten comic book heroes for a new generation. This was basically Disney Animation’s version of Guardians of the Galaxy, for a much younger audience not suitable for PG-13 viewing. And you know what? I think this movie has the right idea about what superheroes really should be about. It’s not just about a bunch of grown professionals in colored outfits fighting supernatural forces just for the heck of it. This time, there are two viable reasons why the main protagonist wants to defeat crime, each one conflicting with the other: helping others, and revenge.

Big Hero 6 as a whole is a well-meaning story about the difference between revenge and helping those in need, but because of numerous plot holes, coincidences, predictable gags, obvious foreshadowing, and a cheap nonsensical ending, this is not going to fall under “classic Disney” territory like Frozen already managed to do. But is it worth it? Well, it’s great for your Avengers-happy little boys, that’s for certain.

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